Portrait of a Wine Writer

Ran into Abe Schoener (Scholium Project) at the Napa Valley Film Fest.

Ran into Agustin Huneeus at the CIA’s Sommelier Summit in April 2015.

Scott Beattie cocktail class at Meadowood. That was my creation.

Hanging with the master mixologist himself, Mr. Scott Beattie.

For me, this was a revelatory tasting of very old zin vines maintained by Bill Greenough — I had read all about this wine, and about Bill in a book by Sean Christopher Weir called “The Mad Crush” which is a hell of an account of working harvest in SLO Wine Country.

That’s Mr. Bill Greenough himself, of Saucelito Canyon Vineyards & Winery in the upper Arroyo Grande Valley.

Napa Valley Wine Academy Boot Camp Students punching down those grapes!

That’s me and Bob Cabral, of Three Stick’s Winery, formerly Kosta Browne.

Photographer Alexander Rubin snapping shots of Donny Sebastiani, for an article I wrote that appeared a recent Tasting Panel Magazine.

That’s Eric Li (left), the founder an inventor of the iFavine “iSommelier” rapid decanter. This photo is from their launch event in China in early November, and that’s Cuno van’t Hoff, European journalist.

The Napa Valley Wine Academy’s fearless leader and chief education officer, Christian Oggenfuss, trying, for the first time, wine in a can. Wine in the can: Infinite Monkey Theorem.

Anyone know who this South African rockstar winemaker is? Hmm?

That’s Jeff Morgan, owner and winemaker, Covenant Wines. His partner is Leslie Rudd. He makes the “best kosher wine on planet earth,” as Parker once said. It’s true. He’s also a genius and my mentor. He was a gifted sax player, band-leader at Monte Carlo, and former west-coast editor of Wine Spectator. I had lunch with him in L.A. and it was downright fun.

Who is the Most Interesting Man in the World? Why, Jonathan Goldsmith.

I attended the Second Annual Keggy Awards, presented by Free Flow Wines in Napa–it was a hoot and a keg of an event.

Scott Beattie cocktail class at Meadowood. That was my creation.

At the Carneros Wine Alliance tasting event back in July, I hosted a “Magnum Challenge” and gave people a Napa Valley Wine Academy Wine 101 tasting. Later, I met up with Alan Kropf (Anchor Distilling & Mutineer Magazine) (top) and Ted Wilson, proprietor of Wilson & Wilson Wines and Fine & Rare, a seafood restaurants in San Francisco, CA.

This is dirt from the Lodi Valley.

This is that same dirt from the Lodi Valley next to a picture of that dirt in its rightful place, and vines planted within it.

This is the panel that presented on the Lodi Native wine project. Spearheading discussion is Elaine Brown (center) of Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews, a marvelous writer with attention to detail like its nobody else’s business, surrounded by some critical Lodi winemakers, and all members of the Lodi Native project. Look it up.

Some fine wine from the Finger Lakes, these cats, Steve Shaw Jr. & Sr. are doing good work on behalf of New York State wines.

In the December/January issue of The SOMM Journal, I feature these fine Bay Area sommeliers, along with Christian Oggenfuss and Geralyn Brostrom (Italian Wine Professional) in this Franciacorta tasting.

Those are the very rocks you’ll find in The Rocks District of Milton Freewater, which is Washington State’s newest AVA.

This is Master of Saké Toshio Ueno at Morimoto in Napa Valley. He is one polished fellow when it comes to saké.

These are five awesome winemakers from Walla Walla Washington and my boy, Jean-Francois Pellet there on the far right.

This is what happens when awesome winemakers from Walla Walla party.

Matthew Kaner (left) inside the Riesling Roadshow trailer, just outside his famed Bar Covell in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. He is one tried and true Dodger fan, by the way.

Winemaker Josh Phelps, of Taken Wine Co, showing me around Sleeping Lady Vineyard, where his dad, Chris Phelps. sources fruit to make Ad Vivum, a dazzling, premium, old world style Napa Cab.